Peace Now: Settlement is Illegal

The Peace Now organization has charged that an illegal Jewish settlement was set up near the existing settlement of Itamar, near Nablus.

Settlers said the mobile homes at the site were set up with the approval of civil administration authorities in the territories.

But civil administration officials denied this, saying that the caravans would be considered “illegal construction.”

Aharon Domb, an Itamar official, said some of the mobile homes had been in place for more than two years. He said others were there for five months.

Domb also said the homes were placed within the boundaries of Itamar and could not be called a new settlement.

This week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his approval of the sale of 3,000 empty apartments in the territories, effectively lifting the freeze, made by the previous Labor government, on their habitation.